Putting Up Some Boundaries and The Attacks Begin

(A/N - I understand the anti-Edward sentiment but please refrain from making paragraph comments about how much you hate Edward. It just clogs up my tabs on Inkstone and doesn't really give me anything to work with. Same goes for comments on the chapter: it's really just a buzz kill when all the comments do is complain about a character without talking about the chapter itself.)

Walking up the stairs, a two liter bottle of water in one hand and a bowl of fruit in the other, I smiled to myself as I thought about how my love for food wasn't just a curse. My enhanced sense of taste could be bad when I ate something bad but when I ate fresh fruit, I could say without a shadow of a doubt that I enjoyed the fruit's taste more than any human alive.

I could taste tastes I didn't even know existed and the existing tastes I did know about were expanded and made more vibrant.

This easily made up for being able to taste more of the bad in things. Especially charred meat. The taste of the char on meat was...horrible. Ended up giving me a running history on what had been cooked on that grill and when the last time it'd been cleaned. Which is why I either rely on my own cooking expertise (which isn't very high) or I scope out potential restaurants/diners before I go there. If I don't and the food is bad...well, it's never fun.

I was brought out of my in-depth thought about food and my sense of taste when I heard a subtle creak from Bella's room. So subtle that a normal human would have no hope of hearing it. I strained my ears a little and heard Bella breathing softly - she was asleep.

Which means the person who made that noise...Welp, I was prepared for this.

Walking to my room, silently, I suppressed any marvel at my own stealth-capabilities when I noticed the intruder in Bella's room hadn't noticed me passing her room to get into mine. Once inside, I placed the water and fruit bowl onto my bed before turning around and walking on the balls of my feet toward Bella's door.

Luckily, dad constantly made sure the hinges on the door were always kept in tip-top condition. Which meant no squeaky door noises.

Put that together with the intruder being preoccupied with something and they didn't suspect a thing until I had the door opened enough for me to be seen.

Edward, the intruder, was looking at Bella as she slept and I had to physically restrain myself from cringing at the creepiness of the guy. It didn't take him long to notice me either and he just looked at me with slowly widening eyes, like a deer in the headlights of a car. I simply pointed to the opened window, "Get the fuck out of here and wait out there," I near silently whispered yet it seemed like my volume was akin to church bells ringing right next to his ears because he flinched and flashed out of the room via the window.

Sighing, I tiptoed into Bella's room and closed the window and then locked it. Clumsy idiot of a sister forgot to lock her window and let a creepy Vampire in.

Though just as I put the latch down, I heard Bella groggily sound out her confusion, "J-Jason?" she stuttered, her throat sounding dry and causing her words to come out rough. Turning around, I gave her a reprimanding look.

"I thought I heard something in your room, Bells. Turns out you left the window open," I told her, leaving out the Vampire that had just been in here, before reprimanding her further, "Make sure you close it before you go to bed and don't forget to lock it. It's the middle of Autumn and you're shitty immune system won't keep you safe for long," I joked and the sleepy Bella just fell back into the embrace of her pillow and groaned as she waved her hand as a gesture of 'Sure, now leave' which I accepted.

Leaving her room, I closed the door and let another sigh before a serious expression came over my face. Cracking my neck, I gave my body a bit of a stretch before I walked down the stairs for the second time tonight.

Slipping on some shoes, I walked outside in shorts and a loose-fitting tank top. Walking around the front of the house toward the side where Bella's window was, I looked around before spotting Edward off toward the forest, leaning against a tree with furrowed brows.

Huh. He actually waited. Fair play. I've gotta give it to him that he's not totally without balls.

I shot over to him, only slowing to a normal human jog as I got close to him before I slowed even further to a walk. He stepped up to me like he was about to talk and explain himself but I stopped him by wrapped an arm around his shoulder and dragging him along, "Let's take a walk, Edward," I said with a frown, the Vampire shutting up and just letting me drag him along.

Not that he could stop me. He was fast - way faster than me. But as soon as I got my hands on him, both he and I knew he couldn't escape from my grip. I was way physically stronger than him. Enough so that he was simply along for the ride when my arm wrapped around his neck/shoulder area.

We walked, in silence, for a few minutes before we entered deep enough into the forest that I was completely sure no one would interrupt or eavesdrop on us.

Letting go of him, I put some space between us before I looked toward him and started speaking.

"Edward," I started before shaking my head, "You can't be doing that, man. It's weird and creepy as hell," I put my thoughts on the table instead of hiding them. It was harsh but it was the truth and it was something Edward needed to know and accept.

He averted his gaze in shame and went to explain, "But--" yet I didn't give him a chance.

Holding up a hand, I leveled a gaze at him, "There is no 'but' in this situation, Edward. Carlisle gave me a rundown of your situation and what Bella is to you...and while I sympathize with your situation, I'm not gonna let you creep on my sister like that. Regardless of how much self-control you might have, one night you may lose control and hurt her. So stop."

I laid down the law and Edward looked at a loss for words, a sort of sadness growing in his eyes before he finally gave a nod, "...I will. I was trying to but my instincts practically forced me to get near her. Regardless, I apologize, Jason," he politely said before going to turn away.

Knowing I'd probably been too vague, I spoke up, "Don't look too down, Edward. I'm not banning you from seeing and being around my sister - I'm not some kind of control freak like that. You can speak to her, be around her but don't do what you did tonight ever again. Otherwise I'll remove you via force," I gave a subtle threat before continuing with a light smile, "Whatever you and Bella have isn't just because of her blood's attraction, Edward, and I think you know that too. If it's anything like what Rosalie and I have, I wouldn't want to deprive that feeling from anyone. But be sure of it that if you ever mess up and hurt her, I'll be there waiting for you, okay?"

"...I understand. I wouldn't expect anything less," he gave a weak grin before sighing himself, "I'm at least glad there's someone to stop me from doing all this stuff. I'm too weak to stop myself on my own," he said, his tone very self-deprecating, "So, thanks for stopping me, Jason."

Seeing his sincere thanks, I gave him a nod, "Just a heads-up as well before you go," I got his attention and continued when he looked at me with a confused gaze, "Bella saw you and Rosalie speed over the parking lot. One minute you were across the parking lot and the next you were right next to us? If my sister is anything, it's curious. So prepare yourself for school or the next time you see her," I gave him a heads-up like I said and then turned around and began walking away.

It's not my right to get involved in their budding relationship (or whatever it is) unless Bella is directly getting hurt by it. The threat of Edward draining her of all her blood was a big one but it was just as big as the threat of Rosalie doing the same to me when I was asleep.

Hell, it's the same threat everyone embraces when they get to know someone new. That new person could be a serial killer for all you know. So, until he does something definite, I'll stay out of it. Unless it's to tell him to fuck off because he's being a creepy old Vampire.

Picking up my speed, I flashed through the woods back toward my house. After all, I had school in the morning.

. . .

Looking over the railings, I looked at the foamy sea crashing against the sand and wondered why exactly I was here. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Bella and her friend Angela speaking while Mike, Eric and Jessica all zipping up their swimsuits - and I found that I didn't really like any of them. Except, obviously, Bella. Maybe Angela could be exempt as well - she was a nice girl.

However, the other three just weren't my crowd.

Mike was, for the lack of a better word, an incel. He was a creep and continued to pester Bella despite her not showing a hint of interest in him. Eric was alright...but the two of us didn't really mesh well. He was more nerdy than I was and while I enjoyed talking about the latest game or about computer specs, there's only so much talk I can put up with before it gets boring. Jessica was just...extremely two-faced. I dislike people like that without putting much thought toward it.

...I guess I was only here because Bella begged me to come. To make it less socially awkward or whatever - I was better at social interaction, even with people I didn't particularly like, than Bella.

So, as the brilliant brother that I am, I went along with it and agreed. But now that I'm here, I kinda wished that I'd put up with the possibility of Bella just being annoyed at me for a few days for not coming with her and her group. Alas, hindsight is 20/20 but you can't change your past choices even if you do regret 'em.

Fully turning around I leaned on the railings before pushing off of them and began walking to the van where Bella was sitting.

"...That Eric's gonna ask me to the prom but then he doesn't," I began to actively hear what Angela was saying, taking off my self-made noise suppression as I got closer. Bella looked somewhat distracted but still seemed to hear as she turned and looked at Angela.

"Uh, then you should ask him yourself, I guess," she got out, her social awkwardness making it seem less like she was trying to encourage her friend and more like she was trying to badly comfort her. Fortunately, Angela seemed to have already adapted to Bella's less than adept social prowess and Bella cleared it up anyway, "I mean, you don't need to wait for a guy to come to you, right? That seems a little...old fashioned," she laughed and Angela joined her just as I joined in.

"My sister's right," I said, nearly making Angela jump out of her skin as she looked over her shoulder at me. Ignoring her surprise, I continued, "Might as well shoot your shot instead of the both of you twiddling your thumbs and doing nothing, right? Besides, he seems pretty into you anyway so it'll most likely work," I smiled and Angela gave a 'Really?' expression as she smiled.

What I didn't mention was that Eric seemed like he'd accept the confession off of just about any girl if it came. Plus, Angela was far from ugly. Not Rosalie-level but she was pretty cute, I guess. Especially if you like girls with glasses.

"You think so?" she asked and both Bella and I nodded in affirmation which made her smile even brighter, "Thanks, you two," she thanked us and seemed practically infused with confidence.

At this point, Jessica came over and looked expectantly up at me, "Uh, Jason?" she asked and I looked to her with disinterested eyes upon which she turned around and pointed at the zipper on the back of her wet suit, "Can you zip this up?" she asked and I indifferently grabbed the zipper that was halfway up her back and pulled it quickly to the top.

Jessica was pretty. But compared to Rosalie...well, there was no comparison. If I had to compare it, then Jessica's prettiness was like a rotting corpse compared to Rosalie. They were in completely different leagues.

Jessica seemed disappointed but I ignored that when I saw Jacob walking over to us with two of his friends.

At first, he was coming over because he spotted me - I saw this in the way he was walking directly at me with his hand raised just as I saw him. But just as he was about to say hey to me, he saw my sister a little distance behind me and just like that, he was sent into a daze. I mean, I can't blame him because I'm the exact same with Rosalie...but it kinda sucks that I know his feelings for Bella will never be returned in any meaningful way. Sure, Bella DOES come to love Jacob but she loves Edward more.

Kinda sad but I guess even my appearance hasn't changed that dreadful love triangle from appearing. The only solace is that Jacob probably isn't attracted to Bella but instead the fact that she's the mother of the person he'll imprint on.

That's the theory from the movie anyway.

Whatever. Useless thoughts.

Shaking my head, I raised a hand and called out to lover boy, "Yo, Jake! How you doing, man?" he snapped out of his daze and looked back to me.

When he got close enough, I dapped him up a little and he gave me an answer, "I'm good, Jason, I'm good. You?"

"Ah, you know, pretty good," I smiled wide, thinking about Rosalie and how we'd been over the passed few days. Turning to the two guys accompanying Jacob, I put out a hand, "How you guys doing? Name's Jason, Sheriff Swan's son," I smiled and the two of them seemed taken aback by my friendliness.

They introduced themselves as Embry and Quil and I got to know them a little better as Jacob bashfully tried to talk to Bella. He sat next to her and took some of the candy she was eating and they bantered with one another in a rare display of the two of them being able to get a word across to the other.

Just as I was about to refute Mike about the Cullens being freaks (more like slap him), I heard my phone beep and vibrate, so I fished it out my pocket and flipped it open.

Seeing it was off Rosalie, I smiled but said smile quickly withered.

"Speaking about Cullens, I've gotta go meet one of them," I said, ignoring the stares I got as I reached behind Jacob and Bella and grabbed my leather jacket. Slipping it on, I walked over to my bike that was parked right behind the van Bella and the others were in and I got on it, "See you at home, Bella."

I wasn't in the mood for pleasantries right now. What had Rosalie messaged me about? Someone had died in Forks. Not just regular, natural causes death. No, it was murder. Murder via a Vampire.

Starting the engine up, I heard Bella call out to me but I revved the bike before releasing the brake. Swinging the back end of the bike around, I lifted my foot off the ground and shot toward up the muddy beach road.

"So it begins..." I whispered to myself, my voice drowned out by the engine.